Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to ultrasound imaging systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for steering multiple ultrasound signals generated by an ultrasound imaging system.
Ultrasound elasticity imaging is an elastography imaging modality that employs ultrasound waves to probe the mechanical properties of biological tissues and produce corresponding images. Shear wave elastography imaging (SWEI) is a type of ultrasound elasticity imaging. SWEI is based on applying acoustically generated shear waves to determine mechanical properties of the tissue, usually measured as a velocity, by tracking the displacement of the tissue at a plurality of points caused by the shear wave over time. The velocity relates to one or more mechanical properties of the tissue and may provide stiffness information measured in, for example, kilo Pascals (kPa). For example, a normal glandular measured from a patient is approximately 57 kPa, alternatively, a ductal tumor or breast cancer is approximately 301 kPa.
Many SWEI systems utilize a curved transducer that is configured to transmit multiple ultrasound push pulses into tissue of a patient. Typically, each ultrasound push pulse is transmitted in a direction that is normal to the face of the transducer. As such, the ultrasound push pulses diverge from one another, as the push pulses radiate outward from a curved face of the transducer. Each ultrasound push pulse may generate a shear wave in the tissue of the patient. Because the ultrasound push pulses diverge from one another, the distance between the origins of the generated shear waves may be relatively long. Therefore, the shear wave energy directed into the tissue, and therefore the tissue motion detected, may attenuate with increased depth.